Shaker fire extinguisher package and closure therefor



Oct. 20, 1959 1-. CQNNQRS 2,909,228

SHAKER FIRE EXTINGUISHER' PACKAGE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed May 1. 1957 WHEN -manual act of shaking it upon the fire.

" SHAKER FIRE 'EXTINGUIS'HER PA CKAGE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Edward T. Connors, New York,- N .Y. Application May *1, 1957,"SerialNo. "656,354

2- Claims. (21. 169-35) The present invention relates tota'reclosablepackage such as a fire extinguisher and the closure. means therefor. Heretofore several granular or powdered items have been packaged incontainers of tubular or other shapes with/the discharge opening ina flat end wall. Difiiculty has been had in providingclosure members for such containers which provide a good moisture-proof sealyet which arereadily opened. :This'is particularly the case when it is necessary that the closures' be-of the reclosable type. Because of the growing trend in reducing the price of articles, it is important that the packaging thereof should bear the smallestpossible proportion of the 'totalcost of the packaged article.

Accordingly, the dispensingstorage container has become increasingly-the subject of intense development and in order to reduce its cost the development-has been in the direction of simplification as well as in the direction of the production of an improved product. However, it is obvious that it becomes more and more difficult to improve an article'which has .been in use for manyyears such as the dispensing container.

Among the articles which involve the-use of dispensing containers are fire extinguishers 'of the shaker type in which the extinguishing agent hasbeendispensed by the Such shaker extinguishers-havenot been wholly successful because of the type of closure means used.

In such of these extinguishers in which the closure means'has been moisture-resistant the extinguishers have been difficult to open. 'In some cases supporting brackets have been provided for the'extinguisher, in which the closure means is attached to the bracket, so that upon use of'the extinguisher, it may be pulled'away from its bracket leaving its closure and thus be ready for im- 'mediateaction.

The present invention aims to overcome the foregoing 'difiiculties of prior devices by providing a dispensing container, *such as -a 'fire-extinguisher, and a closure therefor, in which the-contents-are-sealed in amoistureresistant condition, yet which may be readily opened 'even byinexperiencedpersons.

7 In accordance with the invention" this is accomplished by providing a container of=powder orthelike in which the opening of th'e container isclosed by a non-'corrodible, elastically deformable member in two parts, one of which remains in position :as a dispensing member while the other is removable. Thecontacting parts of the closure assembly are thus .of sufiicient flexibility so that a .good moisture-proof seal is provided, cthe:non-c'or'rodible surfaces always assuring freejand easy opening ;of the Furthermore, .a construction is provided in which, by-the design thereof, an exceptionally tight closure is had by an arch-like fabrication, and which is .easilyopened by pulling an opening member which has the effect of removing the key from the arch-like consitruction making the closure easily removable.

Another object or the inventionis to provide a dispensing container such as a fire extinguisher and a closure United States Pate-nt 'paper board, fiber, or plastic material. can 2 for a fire extinguisher, it ispreferable that the improved appearance. seen in Figure 5 in section may be secured in position 7 2,909,228 Patented Oct. 20, 1959 therefor which is simple and economical in manufacture,

efiicient in operation, and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of=the invention-will be apparent from the following invention and from the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a device in accord- "ance with the invention, the closure being shownraised to reveal the dispensing means.

Figure 2 is a plan 'view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view corresponding-to Figure 2,-butwith the closure removed.

Figure 4 is a sectional viewtaken along the line '4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section'alview taken'along'the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawingsgthere is shown a dispensing container or fire extinguisher 1 in accordance with the invention. The device includes a can 2, a dispensing member 3 inserted in position in the can 2, and a closure 4 for the dispensing member 3.

The can 2 may be of any suitable-or desired form and may be provided with. a side wall 5 of metal, wound In selecting a over the sidewall 5 by a seamed edge 8. The top end 7 is formed with a discharge opening 9 preferably in the center thereof. The edge of the discharge opening 9 is turned inwardly in the conventional manner forming a short neck 10 which may have a predetermined length.

If desired, the top end 7 may be formed so'that top end 12 of the neck 10 is raised somewhat thereby providing a small annular space 13 adjacent .theseamed edge 8.

The dispensing member 3 is made of a non-corrodible,

elastically deformable material as rubber, or of a plastic,

such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or of other material having the desired qualities. The dispensing member 3 is adapted to be permanently left in position in the discharge opening 9, although by reason of its construction of flexible material, it may be readily removed and again reinserted or used in other cans. The

dispensing member 3 is formed with a short tubular section 14 having an outer surface 15 adapted to fit snugly in the discharge opening '9. At the upper end of the 'tubular section 14 is an annular flange 16 of greater diameter than the discharge opening 9 to normally pre vent the complete insertion of the dispensing member 3.

The junction of the flange .16 andthetubular section 14 may be provided with a slight radius to conform to the radius 'formed by the juncture of the can wall'n'eck I0 and the top 7.

.In order to secure "the dispensing member 3 in position in the discharge opening 9 of the can "2, again st'th'e pressure of the stored contents of the can, a second annular flange or rib 17 is positioned at an intermediate position along the length of the tubular section 14. The annular flange 17 is spaced inwardly from [the 'fi'a'nge 16 by a distance approximately equal to the'length or "the neck I0. By 'r''aSO'n of'the'flexiul'e' i'lfitli're df tli m'a trial used, this distance may be even slightly less than Y configuration.

. i 3 the length of the neck and the tubular section 14 will .still fit in place in the neck 10. The outer surface of the annular rib 17 is shown as rounded in section, however, if preferred or required, a slight groove may be formed on its upper side to receive the cut edge of the :neck 10, or the rib '17 may be turned upwardly slightl to augment the surface 18 in facilitating insertion.

Inner surface 20 of the tubular section 14 is preferably made with a slight inward taper to facilitate the insertion of the closure 4. 'A wall or plate 21 is provided across the opening of the tubular section 14 at the lower end thereof. The wall 21 may be made solid and thereafter apertured or it may be formed with apertures therein.

Dispensing openings 22 are shown as made square,.

although obviously the openings may be of any desired The structure of the wall 21 as illustrated is particularly suited to a strong construction as walls 23 of the openings 22 may be made of increased thickness for reinforcing purposes if necessary. The number and size of the openings 22 may be varied depending upon the discharge rate desired.

The closure member 4 may be retained in the dispensing member 3 by frictional engagement between these parts particularly because of the flexible nature of the materials used. However, in order to assure a locking engagement between these members, tongue and groove means such as an annular groove 24 is formed in the inner wall 20 of the tubular section 14. While this groove maybe positioned anywheres along the surface of the wall 20, it is preferable to place the groove 24 close to the end of the neck 10. At such a position there is a slight deformation of the tubular section 14 outwardly by the closure member 4 which aids in a locking engagement of the various parts.

The closure member 4 may be made of the same or equivalent material as that used for the dispensing member 3. The closure member 4 is formed with a tubular section 25 having an outside diameter such as to snugly engage with inner wall 20 of the tubular section 14. At the lower end of the tubular section 25 is an annular flange or rib 26 adapted to snugly fit in the groove 24. Various sectional configurations of the contact surface between the outer surface of the rib 26 and the groove 24 well-known in the art may be made. The lower edge of the rib 26 is rounded or tapered to facilitate insertion of the closure member 4 in the dispensing member 3. The wall 27 of the closure member 4 is preferably positioned at the lower end of the tubular section 25, but may be raised slightly thereabove to provide for greater rounding inwardly of the lower edge of the rib 26.

At the top of the tubular section 25 may be provided an annular flange 28 for the stiffening of the tubular sec- ,tion 25 and to enhance the appearance of the assembly. The length of the tubular section 25 should be such as to provide slight clearance between the flanges 1'6 and 28 to assure that the rib 26 will engage in the groove 24.

In order to facilitate the removal of the closure member 4, it may be provided with a tab 30 having protuberances 31 and '32 on the top and bottom surfaces thereof. In some constructions it may be desirable to dispense with the annular flange 28 in which event the tab 30 may extend directly from the tubular section 25.

In arriving at the best commercial construction certain slight details of the structure are important. For example, in order to facilitate the reinsertion of the closure member 4 after use, and while there may be some undispensed material on the top surface of the wall 21, it is advisable to place the groove 24 slightly above the surface of the wall 21 so as to provide the clearance between the top surface of the wall 21 and the underside 4 of the wall 27. Such clearance may likewise be obtained by raising the wall 27 slightly within the tubular section 25.

The excellent seal obtained by the construction in accordance with the invention together with the ease in opening the closure is believed obtained because of the arch-like fabrication presented by the nesting of the tubular sections of the closure 4 and dispensing member 3. By reason of the snug fit and the elastic deformability of these parts, they may be readily snapped into position so that the annular rib 15 engages the inner edge of the neck 10 and thus retains both parts in position. There is a seal provided between the surfaces of the tubular portions of the parts and against the neck of the discharge opening, the seal being elastic but tight because of the pressure produced by the arch-like shape of the tubular parts. The ease in opening the closure results from the action of the tab 30 in deforming the tubular section 25 in a similar manner as a keystone is removed from an arch thus causing an effective collapse of the tubular section 25 permitting easy removal of the closure member 4.

In using the device as a fire extinguisher, it is charged by partially filling the can 2 with a conventional fire extinguishing agent such as treated sodium bicarbonate or other well-known agent treated for dispersability and free flow. In applying the fire extinguishing agent to a fire, the closure member 4 is removed and the can 2 grasped adjacent the bottom thereof and the extinguishing agent applied to the near edge of the fire with a fast side-to-side motion. If not fully used, the extinguisher may be reclosed for future use. By reason of the reclosable nature of the closure, the extinguisher may be opened for inspection of the condition and quantity of contents at any time.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that other embodiments may be resorted to without departing from the invention. For example, while the invention has been described with particular reference to the structure of a fire extinguisher, it is obvious that the invention may likewise be applied to structures for the dispensing of other powdered or granular substances. Therefore, the form of the invention set out above should he considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing closure for use with a container having a wall provided with an opening, the closure comprising a tubular member insertable in the opening, flange means for the tubular member adapted to engage the container wall about the opening to retain the tubular member in position, an apertured wall extending transversely across the inner end of the tubular member, means forming a recess in the inner wall of the tubular member adjacent the apertured wall, a closure member including a transversely extending wall portion and a tubular wall portion, an opening tab extending from one end of the tubular portion and means forming an annular bead extending outwardly from the tubular wall portion, the bead positioned approximately in the plane of the wall opening of the container with which it is used and adapted to be engaged in said recess so that the container wall supports the means forming the recess against outward movement and the transverse wall of the closure member supports the extension against inward movement, whereby a secure locking engagement is had between the closure member and the tubular member.

2. A dispensing closure for use with a container having a wall provided with an opening, the closure comprising a tubular member insertable in the opening, flange means for the tubular member adapted to engage the container wall about the opening to retain the tubular member in position, an apertured wall extending transverselyacross the inner end of the tubular member, a closure member gagement is had between theclosure member and the tubular member when in position in the wall opening of the container with which it is to be used.

5 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hamilton May 17, 1921 Fahnestock Feb. 5, 1924 Hayes I June 24, 1938 Albiam' Mar. 11, 1958 

